Development
Undertale was developed by Toby Fox across 2.7 years.16 Development was financed through a crowdfunding campaign on the website Kickstarter. The campaign was launched on June 25, 2013 with a goal of US$5,000; it ended on July 25, 2013, with US$51,124 raised by 2,398 people (1022.48% of the original goal).17 Undertale's creation ensued after Fox created a battle system using the game creation system GameMaker: Studio.18 He wanted to develop a role-playing game that was different from the traditional design, which he often found "boring to play".19 He set out to develop a game with "interesting characters", and that "utilizes the medium as a storytelling device ... instead of having the story and gameplay abstractions be completely separate".19 Fox worked on the entire game independently, besides some of the art; he decided to work independently to avoid relying on others.16 Fox had little experience with game development; he and his three brothers often used RPG Maker 2000 to make role-playing games, though few were ever completed. Fox also worked on a number of EarthBound''ROM hacks while in high school.19 Temmie Chang worked as the main artistic assistant for the game, providing most of the sprites and concept art.20 Fox has said that the game's art style would likely remain the same if he had access to a larger team of artists. He found that "there's a psychological thread that says audiences become more attached to characters drawn simply rather than in detail", particularly benefiting from the use of visual gags within the art.21 '''Game design' The defensive segment within the battle system was inspired by the Mario & Luigi series, as well as bullet hell shooters such as the Touhou Project series.22 When working on the battle system, Fox set out to create a mechanic that he would personally enjoy.23 He wanted Undertale to have a battle system as equally engaging as Super Mario RPG (1996) and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003). Fox did not want grinding to be necessary at any point in the game, instead leaving it optional to players. He also did not wish to introduce fetch quests, as they involve backtracking, which he dislikes.16 In terms of the game's difficulty, Fox ensured that it was easy and enjoyable. He asked some friends who are inexperienced with bullet hell shooters to test the game, and found that they were able to complete it. He felt that the game's difficulty is optimal, particularly considering the complications involved in adding another difficulty setting.24 The game's dialogue system was inspired by Shin Megami Tensei (1992),22 particularly the gameplay mechanic whereby players can talk to monsters to avoid conflict. Fox intended to expand upon this mechanic, as failing to negotiate resulted in a requirement to fight. "I want to create a system that satisfied my urge for talking to monsters," he said.3 When he began developing this mechanic, the concept of completing the game without killing any enemies "just evolved naturally".25 However, he never considered removing the option to fight throughout development.25 When questioned on the difficulty of playing the game without killing, Fox responded that it is "the crux of one of the major themes of this game", asking players to think about it themselves.25 Writing For the game's writing, Fox was partly influenced by the silliness of internet culture, as well as comedy shows like Mr. Bean (1990–1995).16 He was also inspired by the unsettling atmosphere of EarthBound (1994).16 Fox's desire to "subvert concepts that go unquestioned in many games" further influenced Undertale's development.25 Fox found that the writing became easier after establishing a character's voice and mood. He also felt that creating the world was a natural process, as it expressed the stories of those within it.21 Fox felt the importance to make the game's monsters "feel like an individual".22 He cited the Final Fantasy series (1987–present) as the opposite; "all monsters in RPGs like Final Fantasy are the same ... there's no meaning to that".22 The character of Toriel, who is one of the first to appear in the game, was created as a parody of tutorial characters. Fox strongly disliked the use of the companion character Fi in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011), in which the answers to puzzles were often revealed early. Fox also felt that role-playing video games generally lack mother characters; in the Pokémon series (1996–present), as well as Mother (1989) and EarthBound, Fox felt that the mothers are used as "symbols rather than characters".19 In response, Fox intended for Toriel's character to be "a mom that hopefully acts like a mom", and "genuinely cares" about players' actions.19 Music The game's soundtrack was entirely composed by Fox. A self-taught musician, he composed most of the tracks with little iteration; the game's main theme, "Undertale", was the only song to undergo multiple iterations in development. The soundtrack was inspired by music from Super NES role-playing games,16 such as EarthBound,28 as well as the webcomic Homestuck, for which Fox provided some of the music.16 Fox also stated that he tries to be inspired by all music he listens to,23 particularly those in video games.28 According to Fox, over 90% of the songs were composed specifically for the game.18 "Megalovania", the song used during the boss battle with Sans, had previously been used within Homestuck and in one of Fox's EarthBound''ROM hacks.2729 For each section of the game, Fox composed the music prior to programming, as it helped "decide how the scene should go".18 He initially tried using a music tracker to compose the soundtrack, but found it difficult to use. He ultimately decided to play segments of the music separately, and connect them on a track.28 To celebrate the one year anniversary of the game, Fox released five unused musical works on his blog in 2016.30 Four of the game's songs were released as official DLC for the Steam version of Taito's ''Groove Coaster.29 Undertale's soundtrack has been well received by critics as part of the success of the game, in particular for its use of various leitmotifs for the various characters used throughout various tracks.3132 In particular, "Hopes and Dreams", the boss theme when fighting Asriel in the run-through where the player avoids killing any monster, brings back most of the main character themes, and is "a perfect way to cap off your journey", according to USgamer's Nadia Oxford.27 Oxford notes this track in particular demonstrates Fox's ability to "turning old songs into completely new experiences", used throughout the game's soundtrack.27 Tyler Hicks of GameSpot compared the music to "bit-based melodies".33